Saturday, June 14, 2008

Well here's an interesting twist to the whole "NBA is Fixed"/Tim Donaghy mess. I don't know if this is a David Stern inspired angle but Dan Wetzel has decided to talk to David Stern about that local announcers might have a role in this whole NBA mess.

“Sometimes you listen to a game from both (local) feeds and you’d think you were listening to completely different games,” NBA commissioner David Stern said Thursday.

The way the NBA is consumed by fans is mostly on the local level, either via television or radio. Night after night these days, fans hear that their team is being jobbed by officials; not just losing out on all 50-50 calls or the unfortunate victims of human error but downright cheated out of victories.

“I would say that there’s a lot of officiating done by local announcers,” Stern said

The broadcasters didn’t cause Tim Donaghy, the FBI investigation or the NBA’s current challenge with conspiracy catcalls from fans. The NBA has issues it needs to address; in some ways the league had made its own trouble.

But in a number of markets, the announcers create a distrusting environment. While there are plenty of exceptions, on many broadcasts objectivity isn’t a concern. Bias may come more from the color commentator, often a former player, and not the straighter play-by-play person, but the result is the same.

I urge you to read the whole article because it's a great read, and Wetzel even got some great quotes from Mike Breen regarding the issue. I find it hard to believe that local announcers could have any lasting effect in regards to the refereeing issue, but I guess anything is possible these days. Sure homeristic announcers put some spin on the game, but most (not all) NBA fans are smart enough to pick out these moments.

In the end David Stern just has to suck it up and get a third party to address it. Everyone knows this but it seems as if the NBA is too stubborn to admit it. I really hope this isn't just a diversionary tactic because as much as I pick on homer announcers they're there for a reason. Fans identify with them and at this point no ref should be getting the benefit of the doubt.

Like AA said, homer announcers are there for a reason - part of their appeal on one level is that fans can feel that their emotions are validated by someone 'in the know'.

But the fact of the matter is, looking at the recent Dick Bavetta video clips from the Detroit/Miami series a few years ago, I'm not swayed by any announcing because I root for neither team. There's only one team in the league which may be difficult for me to analyze objectively, but that doesn't mean I'm a moron, like Stern is suggesting.

In any matter, Stern's argument is pretty baseless. Even if our emotions run high with our home teams, it's easy to call bull when we see it throughout the rest of the league.

I dont follow the NBA, but some of the comments in the article could apply to any sport. As for being shills for the team, in Philadelphia the NBA and NHL teams are owned by the same company that also owns the network that shows the majority of the games.

The comment about two different games is pretty accurate too. NFL Network a couple years ago would show replays of preseason games, and one half would be the home teams local announcers and the second half would be the visitors. The difference in tone sometimes was unbelievable.

It is an open secret in the NHL that certain officials are more prone to questionable calls. (Khoharski / Devorski, they work a lot of Game 7s.)

And fans not wanting objectivity in the announcers look at the careers of Dukie V, and others (Buck, Nantz, Berman, Herbstreit).

I have a feeling David Stern has never had anyone tell him 'No' before. ESPN, in all its interviews, presents him as some sort of genius, just watch a couple minutes of Mike & Mike. So what ... he's globlized (sp?) a sport that he also turned into an unwatchable mess ... exciting.

I just have no respect for the guy, with his smug attitude toward fans that he's lost. And the NBA will never get me back as long as he's in charge.